April 19, (THEWILL) — Celtic are in the Scottish Cup final after defeating St. Mirren 6-2 in extra time at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston had given Celtic a two-goal cushion before Mikael Mandron pulled one back in the second half. The St. Mirren striker then completed a remarkable levelling contribution with his second goal in the opening minute of stoppage time, sending the tie into 30 additional minutes.
Kelechi Iheanacho proved the decisive figure in extra time, netting twice to restore Celtic’s control. Luke McGowan and Benjamin Nygren also scored to complete a 6-2 win, and Celtic manager Martin O’Neill reserved particular praise for the Nigerian. “Kelechi [Iheanacho] has had a great career,” O’Neill said. “He has had injury problems. But he looks good, and he wants to do really well. I’ve praised him enough in the dressing room – I think he was quite surprised!”
O’Neill also reflected on the team’s response in the additional period. “Iheanacho’s goal turned it immediately for us again,” he said. “Scoring early on made a massive difference; the confidence was restored again.”
Celtic will face Dunfermline Athletic in next month’s final, which repeats the 2007 Scottish Cup final that Dunfermline lost 1-0 in their last appearance at that stage. O’Neill will come up against former player Neil Lennon, of whom the Celtic boss said: “Neil was a major player for us, and his record in management is second to none.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
